Associated Press FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A former powerful North Dakota lawmaker is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday in federal court to traveling to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor. Ray Holmberg, a Republican who served in the state Senate from 1976 to 2022, was indicted in October 2023. He
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz and his fellow Democrats have enacted big changes in the two years that they’ve had full control of the Minnesota Legislature, from expansions of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights to tax credits and other initiatives aimed at making life easier for families. His record has delighted liberals and
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KANAIO, Hawaii (AP) — Fear. Anxiety. Anger. Depression. Overwhelmed. Janice Dapitan began her second counseling session by writing those words on a whiteboard, reflecting what she felt in that moment. The day fire destroyed her hometown of Lahaina — and the struggles that have followed for nearly a year — still haunted her.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Filling out forms that ask for racial and ethnic identification can be a struggle for many Latinos, especially when there is not one box that reflects their identity. Because of this, Latinos are often left checking Hispanic census boxes that do not encompass who they are, creating gaps in data that experts say
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Roughly 3 in 4 American adults believe the upcoming presidential election is vital to the future of U.S. democracy, although which candidate they think poses the greater threat depends on their political leanings, according to a poll. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds
Continue ReadingAssociated Press/Report for America NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An agricultural company made the surprise decision Tuesday to cancel a project to build a massive grain terminal in a historic Black town in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” a heavily industrialized stretch of land along the Mississippi River. The company, Greenfield Louisiana LLC, and its supporters — including
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PHOENIX (AP) — The US government’s top health official is acknowledging that a federal program that helps low-income people with utility bills needs to focus more on cooling and not overwhelmingly on wintertime heating. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was visiting Phoenix amid triple-digit temperatures Wednesday. He spoke to reporters after
Continue ReadingAP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi’s influence can be seen all across the Democratic Party shakeup. In a few short, agonizing weeks it has reengineered the 2024 presidential ticket and the race for the White House. It was Pelosi, the House speaker emerita, who publicly encouraged President Joe Biden to make a decision
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied Thursday in Wall Street’s latest sharp swerve after a better-than-expected report on unemployment eased worries about the slowing economy. The S&P 500 jumped 2.3% for its best day since 2022 and shaved off all but 0.5% of its loss from what was a brutal start
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Earth’s string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Nino climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Wednesday. But July 2024 ’s average heat just missed surpassing the July of a year ago, and scientists said the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance have been hammering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd. But Trump described the governor as calm and said, at the time, he fully agreed with
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption who was trying to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as vice president, prosecutors said in court papers Wednesday. Special counsel David Weiss’ team said Hunter Biden’s business associate will testify at the upcoming federal tax trial
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DENVER (AP) — An employee of former Colorado clerk Tina Peters who says she was present when her boss allowed an outsider posing as a county employee to breach her voting system’s computer says Peters was shocked when images from the computer appeared online. Sandra Brown talked about Peters’ reaction Wednesday while testifying
Continue ReadingAssociated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signaled Wednesday he’s ready to campaign for the Democratic ticket, and said Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are motivated to improve lives in contrast to “personal grievances” driving the other side in a dig at Republican Donald Trump. A day after
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — Steve Martin’s next role will not be the Midwestern politician the internet hoped he’d portray. With Maya Rudolph’s wildly popular impression of Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live,” fans clamored to see who the late-night comedy show would pick to play Harris’ new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. With similar
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — For the first time in roughly 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency used its emergency authority to halt the sale of a weed-killing pesticide that harms the development of unborn babies. Officials took the rare step because the pesticide DCPA, or Dacthal, could cause irreversible damage to fetuses, including
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tressa Honie is caught between anger and grief in the lead-up to Utah’s first execution since 2010. That’s because her father Taberon Dave Honie is the person set to die by lethal injection and her grandmother is the person he brutally murdered in 1998. The heinous intrafamilial crime
Continue ReadingSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Forensic authorities in the Dominican Republic are working to identify the remains of at least 14 mostly decomposed bodies found on an abandoned vessel 10 nautical miles of its northern coast. The Dominican Republic Navy said the 14 skeletons appeared to belong to individuals from Senegal and Mauritania, according
Continue ReadingTULSA, Okla. (AP) — A dog chomping on a lithium-ion battery sparked a serious house fire in Oklahoma, and video of the moment the sparks began to fly has been enlisted by a fire department to show the potential dangers of those batteries. The footage taken from the home and posted last week on the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Medical marijuana remains unavailable in Alabama amid an ongoing legal fight over licenses. State lawmakers approved the creation of a medical marijuana program in 2021. However, the program remains on hold. Companies have challenged the process used by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to award and contest licenses. The
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